Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was the most important naval battle during World War I.^[1]

The German fleet was under blockade by the larger Royal Navy of Britain and, for the most part, was kept in its base at Wilhelmshaven. The Battle of Jutland happened when the German Navy, led by Admiral Reinhard Scheer, tried to break out into the open sea. The German High Seas Fleet consisted of 22 battleships, five battlecruisers, 11 cruisers and 61 torpedo boats. Scheer also had submarines with torpedos, which he arranged outside the main British bases.

The main British bases were in Scotland: the Orkney and Shetland Islands had a huge base at Scapa Flow, and bases on the main island were at Cromarty, on the Moray Firth, and at Rosyth, on the north bank of the Firth of Forth.

The British Grand Fleet steamed south-east from their bases and met the German Navy, which was steaming due north. The battle was fought over a wide area at Jutland Bank, west of the Skagerrak, between Norway and Denmark.

1. ↑ Keegan, John (December 2004). Battle at sea : from man-of-war to submarine. London: Pimlico. ISBN 9781844137374.